Scam Alert – is it really HMRC who is calling to demand payment?

With email and telephone scams on the increase and more people being defrauded out of their money and savings head of Bennett Griffin’s Care, Capacity and Court of Protection team Ian Macara tells of a recent experience he had with potential scammers;

“I recently had a retired gentleman call in to the office, unannounced, very worried about calls he had started to receive purportedly from HRMC and demanding payment. He was sensibly cautious but partly wanted to deal with this himself and partly didn’t want to trouble his relative who lived some distance away.

I offered to ring on his behalf and he was very appreciative.

When I got through it was to what sounded like a call centre. They asked me for my own personal information but when I explained who I was and that I wanted their details to pass on to Trading Standards and an assurance they had removed our gentleman’s contact details they put the phone down on me. On checking the number on-line and with trading standard it was clearly a scam. I’m pleased to report that our local resident at least hasn’t had any further nuisance and potentially fraudulent calls.”

The team at Bennett Griffin are members of Action on Elder Abuse who have recently reported on Croydon Trading Standards raising awareness of the scam that Ian witnessed. You can read the article here.

Action on Elder Abuse also has a free booklet with “Top Fraud Prevention Tips” that can be downloaded to help protect yourself or a love onehere.

This example, and so many that are report in the press currently, also illustrate how important having an appropriately drafted Lasting Powers of Attorney can be to authorise trusted family, friends or professionals to become involved to support and better protect individuals who may be susceptible to financial scams or even just unsettled and upset at the worry they can cause.

The information contained in this article is for general guidance only and is not intended to be legal advice. Professional advice should always be taken on the application of the law in any particular situation.